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Is Lamaism
Buddhism? (4) 26 April 2008 Is Tibetan
Lamaism Buddhism? (1) - A Culture of Black Magic In Buddhism, there are two major schools, Hinayana and Mantrayana. Tibetan Lamaism likes to present itself as a branch of Mantrayana, and it is thus called Vajrayana Buddhism or Yantrayana Lamaism.
Tibetan lamas love to give rating to different schools of cultivation. They rank the Hinayana Buddhism, mainly practiced in Thailan, Sri Lanka and other Southeast Asian nations, as the entrance level of Buddhism, mark the Mantrayana Buddhism, chiefly represented by Han Chinese Buddhism, as at the middle level, while place their Vajrayana Lamaism at the top of the rating scale. Within the Vajrayana Lamaism, there are different factions, and Dalai Lama’s faction ranks Nyingma as the entrance level Lamaism, marks Sakya and Kagyu as at the middle level, while places their own Gelug the Yellow Hat at the top of the rating scale. Tibetan Lamas, the Yellow Hats in particular, are so obsessed with classification and proud of the high rating they've given to themselves, that they think they have a holy responsibility to go to the Mantrayana and Hinayana teaching sites preaching Lamaism, but rejecte Buddhist monks to speak in their own monastaries. The precepts that govern the behaviors of the ordained Buddhists reflect the human ethics and morality at the highest standard. While Lamaism pays lip service to the importance of oberserving the precepts, it encourages lamas to do just the opposite and names this practice “Rule of Reverse”. For instance, if the common wisdom requires people to maintain personal hygiene in order to keep healthy, the filthiest one among all is considered by Lamaism as the cleanest; if the precepts demand lamas to obstain from sex, a sex mania is regarded in Lamaism as a saint. Why? Because it is a way to achieve great order through maximum chaos. What is the perfect order from Lamaists' perspective then? You may like to hear this: it is a world that is ruled by Tibetan Lamas in both political and religious aspects. Now you can easily spot a fundamental difference between Lamaism and Buddhism. Buddhist monks are the ones trying to free themselves from the earthly attachment, lamas are the ones striving to position themselves in the centre of the everyday politics and mundane affairs. In China’s Han area, it is quite common in history that a failed official would retreat into a monastic existence to express his ultimate determination to give up his worldly ambition. Such a thing could never happen in China’s Tibetan region, since in Lamaist culture, when one is ordained as a lama, he has therefore entered the elite ruling class. If you can comprehend this tradition, you can then understand why the Tibetans are so keen to send their sons into monasteries. Mind you, the 14th Dalai Lama is a great master of this "Rule of Reverse". While Lamaism promots a strict hierarchical society, it becomes closely associated with some social “outcast” in the West - the anarchists and the hippies - who are used as tools for the lamas to accomplish the complete order through a total chaos. Is Lamaism
Buddhism? (5) - A Time Machine Full text in original Chinese language at be viewed at realsidelama.com Pre: Is Lamaism
Buddhism? (3) - The 5th Reting Lama
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